The Mary Kay Foundation SM Awards Women In Need $20,000 Grant

For domestic violence prevention and awareness

Women In Need, a local women’s shelter serving Franklin and Fulton counties, received a $20,000 grant from The Mary Kay Foundation SM. In observation of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, The Mary Kay Foundation SM awards $20,000 grants to more than 150 domestic violence shelters across the country for a total of $3 million.

Women In Need will use the grant to provide critical support to shelter residents. The funds will be used to provide intensive individualized case advocacy to help shelter residents improve their financial literacy, seek employment and find affordable housing.

According to Barbara Channing, executive director of Women In Need, “The Mary Kay Foundation grant will assure that victims seeking shelter will receive an increased level of advocacy that will help them to break the cycle of violence in their lives by gaining skills to improve their life circumstances.”

For 35 years, WIN has supported victims of domestic and sexual violence in Franklin and Fulton counties. Since its inception, WIN has grown from a small group of volunteers to an agency employing 18 fulltime and six part-time staff members. What was once a hotline-only service has developed into a comprehensive organization offering a full range of services to sexual assault and domestic violence victims in the community.

WIN began in 1976, established by a group of concerned citizens who had become aware of the lack of services available to victims of rape in Franklin County. They formed what was initially called the Chambersburg Area Rape Crisis Center, a volunteer hotline service. In the organization’s first year, six volunteers provided crisis intervention and advocacy services to 16 victims of sexual violence. Last year, WIN served approximately 1,700 men, women and children who were the victims of violence in Franklin and Fulton counties.

“The Mary Kay Foundation SM is committed to breaking the cycle of domestic violence.” said Anne Crews, Mary Kay Inc. vice president of government relations and board member for The Mary Kay Foundation SM. “ Through our grants, we honor and support shelters across the country that are having a profound impact for women and children in their communities. Since 2000, we have granted $31 million to help domestic violence shelters meet their critical needs and support their ongoing community efforts.”

The Mary Kay Foundation SM was created in 1996, and its mission is two-fold: to fund research of cancers affecting women and to help prevent domestic violence while raising awareness of the issue. Since the foundation’s inception, it has awarded nearly $31 million to shelters and programs addressing domestic violence prevention and more than $18 million to cancer researchers and related causes throughout the United States. To learn more about The Mary Kay Foundation SM, visit marykayfoundation.org or call 1-877-MKCARES (652- 2737).